‘Other People’ Trailer: Molly Shannon and Jesse Plemons vs. Cancer

While there may be no shortage of dramedies about death and sexuality coming from the independent arm of Hollywood, these films do at least offer us a chance to get to know writers and directors who might otherwise be lost in the system. The new trailer for Other People, by first-time director and Saturday Night Livealum Chris Kelly, may seem more than a little familiar, but there is something to be said for small, personal films, derivative or not.

Other People follows Jesse Plemons’ David, a struggling comedy writer who heads to hometown of Sacramento to help care for his dying mother (Molly Shannon). As David tries to make sense of his life and his inevitable loss, he also struggles to repair the relationship with his father (Bradley Whitford) who has never come to terms with the fact that David is gay.

We had a chance to see the film at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival this past year, and while we weren’t particularly impressed with the film’s dated treatment sensitive material — in particular, the way that the film panders to “generic assumptions of queerness” — the experience of returning home and confronting old demons is one that is unfortunately familiar to many people. Hopefully, someone will watch Other People and find some resonance, even if we did not.

On the bright side, the film does offer us another opportunity to enjoy Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, and Jesse Plemons, three actors who are often hidden in the background of ensemble casts or relegated to secondary roles. Shannon and Whitford in particular are always enjoyable; it’s nice to see the casting directors of Hollywood branch out a little bit from the red phone they have in the back of their office that has a direct line to J.K. Simmons and Allison Janey.